As Srinagar recorded the coldest night in 30 years, a major portion of Kashmir’s famous Dal Lake and several other water bodies froze. The cold wave that swept the valley pushed the temperature to as low as -8.4 degrees Celsius, an official of the weather department said.

The official said while Srinagar had recorded -8.3 degrees Celsius in 1995, the temperature in 1991 was -11.3 degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Srinagar was -14.4 degrees Celsius in 1893.

Pahalgam tourist resort,
which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra in south
Kashmir, recorded a low of -11.1 degrees Celsius – up from the previous
night’s -11.7 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest recorded place in
Jammu and Kashmir, reported PTI.

Gulmarg tourist resort had
the minimum temperature of -7 degrees Celsius- up from -10 degrees
Celcius from last night while Qazigund, known as the gateway town to Kashmir, experienced a minimum temperature of 10 degrees Celsius compared to -1.4
degrees Celsius last night.

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This minimum temperature has even froze the water supply pipes.
Most roads of the valley has been covered with a thick layer of ice making it difficult
for motorists to drive, reported PTI.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ — the 40-day
harshest winter period when a cold wave gulps the region and the temperature
drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies. The chances of
snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas,
especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall.

‘Chillai-Kalan’ started on December 21 and will continue till January
31. However, these cold waves will continues even after that in Kashmir with a
20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai-Bachha’
(baby cold).